We are justified in omitting from the biography of Ibn Tumart the story of Al-Ghazali, as it is completely unacceptable. The scholars of the time, and we ourselves, see in it a fulfillment of people's need to find a compelling reason, beyond personal grievances, for a man to rise to power with a brilliant, extraordinary light, to crush the existing state.

This view of Goldziher formed the basis for many who followed him and adopted the same stance on this issue. The arguments they used to support their view can be attributed to two main points: First: Al-Ghazali left Damascus in 505 AH (1111 AD) and settled in Nishapur, then in Tus, where he died in 505 AH (1111 AD). Ibn Tumart, on the other hand, did not leave the Maghreb until 510 AH (1116 AD) and perhaps did not even reach Baghdad until 505 AH (1111 AD). Thus, the meeting of the two men is impossible, neither in Damascus nor in Baghdad.

Second: The story is fabricated. This is indicated by the association of this meeting with the burning of Al-Ghazali's books by the Almoravids. Al-Ghazali's condemnation of them was to undermine their kingdom, and they called Ibn Tumart to be the heir to this kingdom. The fabrication of this story supports Ibn Tumart's Almohad call, as it carries something akin to a fatwa from Al-Ghazali legitimizing the revolt against the Almoravids.

These words and many conflicting opinions, with the lack of definitive evidence in the historical records, lead us to raise this issue to the level of the impossible.

Goldziher: Introduction to Islamic Studies in the Maghreb, p. 127. Abdullah Annan: The Almoravid Era, p. 10. Huyse Miranda: The Political History of the Almohads, p. 66. Muhammad Wald Dada: The Concept of Kingship in the Almoravids and Almohads, p. 77. Abdullah Ali Allam: The Almohad Call in the Maghreb, p. 161. Saad Muhammad Hassan: The Mahdist Movement in Islam, p. 34. John and Jerome Tarrou: The Civilization of Al-Andalus, p. 133. Al-Ghanai: The Rise of the Almohad State, p. 216.

See especially: Abdullah Allam, Annan, and Goldziher in the aforementioned references. See especially: Abdullah Allam, Al-Ghanai, and Ibn Khaldun, History of the Berbers, p. 63.